I Never Told You
by ImaginaryGirlxx
Summary: A different take on when Elena confronted Jenna about being adopted. Secrets will be revealed and relationships are tested. How will Elena deal with this latest revelation? Slightly AU. Set around episodes 11 and 12 of season 1.
1. Chapter 1

_Jenna was flicking through the pages of her magazine mindlessly when Elena opened the front door._

"_I don't set a lot of rules, Elena. Not with you." She said, getting up from the couch. "I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you and why did you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that."_

"_Now is not the time you want to talk to me about lies."_

"_Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything."_

"_Ok, question: am I adopted? I trust you to tell me the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell me? I thought we were closer than that." Elena retorted before climbing up the stairs away from her aunt._

"_Elena, I didn't... they asked me not to."_

"_I don't want to hear it." She replied without even turning back to look at Jenna. If she had done, she would have seen the tears forming in her eyes at the thought of hurting Elena with the truth about her parents and having to reveal her deepest and darkest secret to the young girl._

For the next couple of days, both women tried to avoid each other, each wanting time to understand and process what had happened. Jeremy noticed the tension but figured that it would be best to stay out of whatever argument they were having, assuming that hormones were most likely involved and that the problem would solve itself soon enough.

The day of the 50s decade dance was the first time since their argument that Elena and Jenna had managed to have a proper conversation. Jeremy was out and they had the house to themselves.

"Why didn't you tell me, Jenna?" Elena asked.

"Your mom was going to do it eventually. I never thought I'd have to." Jenna admitted.

"If my mom were here right now and I asked, she'd tell me the truth."

"I know." She replied, hanging her head slightly. "I'm just not sure you'd want to know the truth."

"I deserve to know who my real parents are." Elena argued.

Jenna sighed, knowing that she wouldn't let this go until she found out the truth.

"Look, why don't we go to the dance and have a good night and then I promise when we get back I'll tell you everything I know about your birth parents." She reasoned. She knew the magnitude of what Elena was asking her to tell her and didn't want to ruin the young girl's evening when she should be having fun with her friends.

"Ok." Elena agreed, grabbing her purse and leaving the house as quickly as possible.

Later that evening, once the dance had finished, Jenna allowed Alaric to walk her home. She wanted more than anything to invite him inside and postpone the inevitable conversation with Elena but knew that it was best to get it over with. Besides, this was the sort of conversation best had whilst sober. Jenna knew that if she waited any longer she'd probably start to drown her sorrows in alcohol as she had been doing for the past couple of days once Elena and Jeremy were asleep.

She opened the front door and stepped inside their warm house, a pleasant change from the cold January weather. Looking around, she found Elena sat on a stool at the island in the kitchen, nursing what she hoped was just a glass of coke.

"Did you have fun at the dance?" She asked when Elena turned around to face her, having heard her opening the door.

"Yeah." She lied, hoping that she didn't have to expand on the night, given the vampire-related drama that had occurred only a few rooms down from her oblivious aunt and classmates. "I see Mr Saltzman walked you home?" She asked.

Jenna nodded, grabbing an empty glass from one of the kitchen cupboards and pouring herself some water. She had decided to stick to her earlier plan of not drinking any alcohol until she'd spoken to Elena.

"Are you going to tell me about my birth parents?" Elena asked, not wanting to put the conversation off any longer with small-talk.

'This is it', Jenna thought to herself. She nervously looked down, suddenly finding the hem of her shirt very interesting.

"What do you want to know?" She asked.

"Their names, what they were like, how my parents adopted me, why I was given up for adoption in the first place..." Elena listed.

"Well when she had you, your mother was... she was very young." Jenna started. "She was only fifteen. Your dad delivered you and the girl admitted that she wasn't ready to raise a child. She was still in school and alone. Her parents didn't want to know her anymore and your birth father had left her when he found out that she was pregnant. Your mom and dad fell in love with you immediately and agreed to raise you. They'd wanted a child for so long and were having problems conceiving." She explained. "They put their names on the birth certificate and raised you as their own."

"Did she ever say who my real father was?" Elena asked.

"No, only that he was a couple of years older and was going off to college."

"So my mom was just some teenage slut then." She concluded, angrily. "She never wanted me and dumped me on my parents the first chance she got."

Jenna's eyes started to fill with tears at this comment but she took a deep breath and tried not to let them fall.

"It wasn't like that, Elena. She just wanted what was best for you and a chance to live her own life."

"Then what was it like, Jenna? How do you expect me to believe that she cared about me?"

"Because she was always watching over you." Jenna replied.

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. She only ever wanted to make sure that you had everything you needed in your life. And you got that, with your parents."

Elena thought about this for a moment. It was true; she'd had a good life growing up with her parents. It didn't matter who her birth parents were because the Gilberts were here real family. That didn't mean that she wasn't curious about her biological parents. Half or her was happy that her parents might be alive but another part of her just wanted to meet them and find out why they abandoned her.

"Do you know her name?" Elena asked. "I think I'd like to meet her."

Jenna took a deep breath and looked away from Elena before answering, not daring to see the look on her face when she learned the truth.

"Her name is Jenna." She admitted as she allowed a single tear to escape from her eyes and fall down her cheek.

**A/N: What do you think? Is this worth continuing? I'd love to ****read**** your comments :) xxxxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it :) Thanks to everyone who has followed this story and especially to Aod4L and xxRAINBOWunicornsXX for their kind reviews :)**

_"Her name is Jenna." She admitted as she allowed a single tear to escape from her eyes and fall down her cheek._

Elena sat there in a stunned silence as she looked at her aunt, trying to process what she was telling her. Jenna had made no move to turn back and face the young girl. She knew that it was her responsibility to make the first move after her confession but she couldn't bring herself to look at Elena for fear of seeing rejection on her face. That was the one thing that Jenna knew she couldn't handle.

After what felt like an eternity of silence for both women, which in reality could not have been longer than a minute, Jenna turned back around to face Elena, wiping the fallen tears from her face as she did.

"You're my real mom?" Elena asked and Jenna nodded. "I can't deal with this right now." She admitted, getting up and making her way to her bedroom.

Once inside, she locked her door and leaned against it, slowly sliding down to the floor where she sat, curled up and in tears.

Jenna decided that it was best to leave her for a while. It was a lot for her to take in and she didn't want to push Elena to accept her as her mother before she was ready. What pained the most though, was the fear that she may never be ready for that type of relationship. It had hurt her so much to see Elena grow up calling Miranda 'mom' that Jenna had decided to move away from Mystic Falls to save herself from that pain. She had told her sister that it was because of her breakup with Logan Fell, which was part of the reason for her leaving, but couldn't bring herself to admit the other reason. She was scared that if she stayed around Elena for too long whilst she was growing up she would let slip the truth in a split second of jealousy. It was already becoming too much for her to bear.

Her thoughts drifted back to the night that the comet passed over Mystic Falls a few months back. She had admitted to Elena how much she was struggling with her new role as her and Jeremy's guardian and how envious she was that Miranda had made parenting look so easy. She was so jealous that her sister was such a natural maternal figure. Even as kids she'd been the same; always looking after her younger sister. When she adopted Elena she seemed to know exactly what to do. Jenna, on the other hand, still had no idea and she was Elena's biological mother.

Meanwhile, Elena was sat in her room thinking through the events of the evening. As much as the dance had been full of drama, that seemed like a distant past when compared with her conversation with Jenna a few minutes ago. What she had found out had changed so much about her life. After learning that her boyfriend was a vampire and her best friend was a witch, she didn't think that anything could shock her but somehow Jenna had managed it. She was her mom? Elena still couldn't believe it.

Elena heard someone coming up the stairs and knocking on her door.

"Elena, please let me explain. We need to talk about this." Jenna said from the other side of the door. When Elena didn't respond she sunk down to the floor, unknowingly mirroring her daughter's position. "You have to understand that this doesn't have to change anything. They will always be your parents, as long as that's how you remember them."

"Why did you give me up? Did you not want me?" Elena asked through her tears.

"No, it wasn't like that. I've always loved you, Elena. That's why I did it. I knew I couldn't be what you needed while I was still in school and could barely look after myself."

"Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?"

"We didn't want to hurt you. Miranda and Grayson had raised you as their own child. I couldn't take that away from them or from you." Jenna explained. She paused, considering whether or not to continue. "And I... I didn't want you to know I was your real mom. I didn't want you to be ashamed of me." She admitted quietly.

"Why would you think I'd be ashamed?"

"Because I was 'just some teenage slut'."

Elena felt a pang of guilt in her heart as she remembered what she'd called her mother earlier, before she knew that she was sitting right across the table from her. Slowly she stood up and opened the door to see Jenna on the other side, her face stained with tears. She noticed a small smile cross Jenna's face as their eyes met and Elena took a seat on the floor next to her.

"I didn't mean it like that." She said, trying to take back what she had said. "I was angry. I don't think of you like that, Jenna." Elena paused as she realised something. "Who's my father?" She asked.

"I... ummm..." Jenna hesitated.

"You said he was older." Elena prompted.

"Your uncle John." She admitted.

"John? How did that even happen?" Elena asked. "And spare me the details." She added.

"We were sort of together for a couple of months towards the end of his senior year."

"Sort of?"

Jenna blushed slightly, suddenly uncomfortable talking about her sex life with Elena now that the young girl knew that she was her mother.

"It was mainly sexual." She said. "He was ashamed of me and didn't want people to know we were together so we never went out on dates or anything. I'm still trying to figure out why I put up with him for so long."

"Does he know who I am?"

Jenna shook her head. "He thinks I had an abortion." She explained. "We didn't want him to tell you before you were ready to know."

"What gives you the right to decide when I was ready to know who my real parents are?" Elena said loudly as she let out the anger that had been slowly brewing beneath the pained surface, making Jenna flinch at the tone of her voice.

"Because I'm your mother and I only wanted what was best for you." She replied, raising her voice slightly to match Elena's. She softened her voice slightly. "We didn't want to hurt you. You were part of a perfect family with your mom, your dad and Jeremy. None of us wanted to take that away from you while you were still so young."

Elena felt her eyes filling with tears, overwhelmed by what she had just found out and becoming increasingly crippled with the storm of emotions washing over her. Jenna made a move to hold her daughter's hand as her tears seemed to get worse. She was relieved when Elena didn't immediately retract her hand and move away from her.

The two women sat in silence for the next few minutes, comforted by the fact that they each had someone they loved close by. Both Jenna and Elena were trying to understand their new relationship. Although Jenna had always known the truth, admitting it out loud to Elena had made their relationship more complicated for her as well. She wasn't just her aunt any more. She had to be a mother and she wasn't sure that she was ready for that.

After a while, Jenna spoke up once more.

"The day that the lawyers called to tell me that I was going to be your guardian, do you know what my first thought was?" Elena shook her head. "Isn't there someone else who can do this?"

"Jenna, there was no one else who could've gotten me and Jeremy through all that."

"Just the thought that I almost passed up taking care of you... I'm an awful mother, Elena. You deserve so much better than me." She cried.

"You were scared. I don't blame you for that." Elena reassured her.

"It doesn't make it okay though." Jenna stated. "But I promise I will do anything I can to put things right and help you through this. I won't leave you again." She promised. Elena moved to rest her head against Jenna's shoulder; exhausted from the difficult evening that she'd had. "Are you going to tell Jeremy?" Jenna asked.

"I will... just not yet. I still need time to process all this." Elena admitted quietly.

"I understand that. I just hope you still feel that you can talk to me about what's happened... about anything." She added.

"I don't know if I can." She replied honestly. "At least not just yet. You've all been lying to me for my whole life. I can't just trust you again."

"Elena, I will do anything to earn back your trust." Jenna said. "Whatever you need I'll be here for you, like I should've been for the past sixteen years."

"I still think I need some more time. I'm going to sleep now." She told Jenna, getting up and heading back into her bedroom.

"Okay, goodnight." Jenna replied before making her way back downstairs to the bottle of wine and tub of full-fat ice cream that had been calling to her all evening from the kitchen.

Thinking back over the evening, Jenna couldn't believe how much had changed. Elena had definitely taken the news better than she would have at sixteen, although the young girl had always been mature for her age. She took after her aunt in that respect, Jenna mused. All she could hope for was that, in time, she could earn back her daughter's trust and be given the opportunity to be the mother to her that she deserved.


	3. Chapter 3

**A huge thanks to Aod4L for reviewing the last chapter :) I'm so sorry for the delay in updating but I got home from uni last week and I've been making the most of having a social life - it doesn't happen often :L I'll try not to take as long with the next chapter :)**

Elena left the house early the next morning. Once outside, she called Stefan and asked to be picked up so that she didn't have to use Jenna's car. The last thing she needed was to cause any unnecessary arguments between them. Stefan arrived a few minutes later and drove Elena back to the boarding house. He could tell that she was upset about something but didn't push her about it.

When they reached the boarding house, Elena got silently out of the car and the couple headed inside.

"She lied to me, Stefan!" Elena exclaimed once they were in the living room.

"Who lied?" He asked, guiding her to one of the couches.

"Jenna! She's my mom. And my uncle John is my dad. Why didn't she tell me?"

"I don't know, Elena. I'm sorry."

"You knew I was adopted. Did you know that she was..." Elena trailed off.

"No, I had no idea. All I knew was that one of your parents must be from the Petrova bloodline."

"Jenna?"

"She must be." He concluded. "Although that means that your mom was a Petrova as well."

"This doesn't make any sense."

"I'm sorry about all of this, Elena. If you want to stay here for a few days to get some distance you can." Stefan offered.

"Thanks but I should probably get back and sort this out sooner rather than later." Elena reasoned. "I'll talk to her after school."

"Do you want me to be there?"

"No, I'll be ok." She assured him with a small smile.

"Okay, but call me if you need me to come over." Elena nodded. "We should probably leave for school now." Stefan figured.

Elena was relieved that the school day passed fairly normally, especially as there was not much normality in her life at the moment. She had asked Stefan not to mention her conversation with Jenna to anyone else. As much as she wanted to talk to her best friends about it, she didn't want word getting out if someone overheard them at school and figured that they both had a lot to deal with anyway, especially Bonnie.

Once school had finished, Stefan offered to drive Elena home. Although the journey was short, Stefan tried to find things to talk about that weren't related to vampires or her family to give her a few minutes to be a 'normal' teenager with her boyfriend. For this, Elena was grateful. Her life had become too crazy recently and she willingly accepted any chance of a normal conversation with open arms.

Stefan left Elena at the front door after she insisted that it was a family matter and assured him that she would call if she needed him.

Opening the door, Elena made her way straight upstairs. She hoped to have a few minutes to herself before she inevitably had to talk to Jenna about her confession the night before. Even though she'd had almost a full day to process it, and had found out a great deal more crazy information in the past couple of months, she still wasn't quite comfortable with the idea that Jenna was her mother, let alone with having to face her with that knowledge.

To her dismay, Jenna knocked on her door about five minutes later.

"Elena, can I come in?" She asked.

"I'm doing homework." Elena lied, turning to the next clean page in her diary.

"Please Elena. We really need to talk about this."

"Now is not the time, Jenna." She replied shortly. In that moment, Elena reminded her so much of her sister Miranda when they were kids. The similarities between them were almost uncanny and that hurt Jenna a bit. As much as she missed her sister and was grateful that Elena had turned out nothing like her, she was still a bit jealous of how close they were.

Jenna sighed. "Can I at least come in and get the curlers?" She asked. She listened as she heard Elena get up off her bed and unlock the door.

"Here." She said, handing them over. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"Ric asked me out on a date." Jenna explained. "I was going to cancel after last night but figured you still needed some time. I can still bail if you want me to stay here?" She suggested, half hoping that Elena would say yes. As much as she didn't want to miss out on her date with Alaric, her relationship with her daughter took priority.

"No you don't have to. Go and enjoy yourself." Elena replied with a small smile. "He seems like a good guy, Aunt Jenna." Jenna's heart deflated a bit as Elena called her that. She knew she would probably never be her 'mom' but it still hurt her to be referred to as 'Aunt Jenna' now that Elena knew the truth.

"I won't be late back." She said, pushing down the tears. "We can talk about this later if you're ready." Elena simply nodded before moving away from the door and picking up her diary again.

Jenna was still feeling very tense when Alaric arrived to pick her up for their date. They decided to go to the Mystic Grill for dinner before they went to the movies.

Once they were seated at a table, each with a glass of wine and waiting for their meals, Alaric started to notice how reserved she was acting. He could tell that her mind was somewhere else entirely.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently. He was debating taking her hand in his but didn't want to be too forward.

"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just got a lot on my mind."

"Is it about Jeremy?" Alaric guessed, knowing how troubled the young boy was.

"No, Elena." Jenna replied.

"She seemed a bit..." Alaric struggled to find the right word. "Distant in class today. Is everything alright with her?" He asked.

"She found out some pretty big news last night. She just needs time to get used to it." She explained.

"And..." Ric prompted, sensing that there was more to the story.

"And I'm finding it difficult to accept that." Jenna sighed. "I just wish she felt she could still talk to me. I have no idea what's going on with Jeremy half of the time but Elena would always come to me and now I don't know if she will. I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking about this now. I don't want to ruin our meal."

"It's fine." He smiled.

"No it's not, I'm sorry." Jenna apologised. She was grateful that Alaric dropped the conversation and the pair made small-talk for the rest of the evening. By the time the movie was finished and Alaric had dropped Jenna home it was nearing half past nine. Jenna had turned down Alaric's offer of drinks after the film in favour of a chance to talk to Elena again. She needed to know that she was alright and wanted to find out where they stood in light of their conversation the night before.

Elena heard the key turning in the lock from the living room where she was sat watching old re-runs of Friends with Jeremy.

"Hi Aunt Jenna." Jeremy greeted her as she stepped inside without even turning around to face her.

"How was your date?" Elena asked.

"It went really well." Jenna smiled, still feeling elated after arriving home from a first date. Spending the evening with Alaric had definitely lifted her mood and given her a chance to take her mind off of the situation with Elena for a few hours.

Not wanting to have to talk to Elena in front of Jeremy, Jenna sat on the couch and joined the teenagers in watching the television. She figured that she would wait for Elena to make the next move if she wanted to talk that night.

After the episode that they were watching finished, Elena got up from the couch, excusing herself as she headed upstairs.

"Elena?" Jenna called out. Elena looked back at her and let out a small, unnoticeable sigh before nodding. "I'm going upstairs too Jer. Shut off the TV before you come up, will you?" She asked. Jeremy nodded and went back to looking at his phone while the commercials were running.

Once they were upstairs and sat on opposite ends of Elena's bed, Jenna started talking.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"I still don't know. I don't really know how I'm meant to be feeling." She admitted.

"You know I don't expect you to be ok with this straight away, right?" Elena nodded. "It's a lot to take in and I know I've not gone about telling you the best way..." Jenna trailed off.

The pair sat in silence for a minute or so before Elena spoke up.

"Do you know much about our family tree?" She asked.

"We have all the old Gilbert journals."

"I mean your side of the family tree."

"I don't know, I guess I could have a look for you. How far back are you thinking?"

"About five hundred years."

"I can try but I doubt I'll be able to access records that far back. You'd be better off asking Ric. He'd love to help you with this." Jenna suggested, trying to hide her confusion as to why Elena was suddenly interested in their family history dating that far back.

"I don't suppose you could ask him for me?"

"Of course." She smiled, happy that Elena was still talking to her, even if it wasn't about their relationship; a conversation that they both knew was coming and were probably both dreading an equal amount.

Not knowing how to continue the conversation, neither woman spoke for a while. They were both lost in thought; thoughts that had plagued them all day but were either too afraid to say or too afraid to find out the other's responses.

Jenna still feared Elena's rejection. She loved her more than anyone else in the world and couldn't stand the thought that letting out her secret had potentially ruined their relationship. She didn't know if they could ever get back the ease and comfort from before. What she wanted more than anything was for Elena to be happy and she hated the fact that her being around might in any way prevent that. As much as she wanted to confess all of this to Elena, she didn't want to overwhelm her and put pressure on her to accept something that she wasn't ready for. Jenna knew Elena and she knew how kind she was. She hated to see her loved ones hurt and if she knew how much Jenna was hurting right now there was every chance that she would put her mother's happiness first at the risk of losing her own.

On the other hand, Elena was still reeling from Jenna's revelation. When her parents died, a part of her had died as well and she was still struggling every day to deal with her loss. Since finding out that Jenna was her birth mother, she couldn't help but feel that if she accepted that new relationship she would be betraying their memory, especially her mother's. She still couldn't get over the fact that Jenna had given her up all those years ago. Although she knew that Jenna had been very young when she gave birth, younger than Elena was now, she couldn't help but feel the betrayal and abandonment that she had first felt when Stefan told her she'd been adopted. At first it had stung, a pain she could only equate to when she leant of her parent's death in the hospital, but since then it had evolved in to a dull ache in her heart that she was trying to push away. Knowing that Jenna had always cared for her and looked out for her was helping to heal that pain, although she doubted that it would ever completely go away.

Never one to be comfortable with empty silences, Jenna sighed quietly and stood up.

"I should... ummm... I should go. You still need some time, I get that."

"No, Jenna. It's ok." Elena replied, shocking herself as much as she shocked Jenna with the invitation to stay. "You wanted to talk?" She prompted.

"I just wanted to make sure you were dealing with everything. I know I haven't exactly been the best role model but I want to change that. I don't want you turning in to me." She said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"I'm fine, I think. I mean, I sort of get why you did it but I just don't understand why you kept it from me for so long."

"After your parents..." She trailed off, not wanting to say the word aloud. "It was too soon. We were all hurting and I couldn't burden you with this."

"I could've handled it, Jenna." She argued.

"Could you?" Jenna replied rhetorically. Knowing the weight of carrying this secret, she knew that it would have been extremely difficult for Elena so soon after her parent's death and she had felt it was in her best interest to keep the truth from her for a while longer.

Elena sighed and shook her head, as if admitting that she knew that she wouldn't have been able to deal with the truth.

"What happens now?" She asked.

As much as Jenna wanted to be selfish, she knew that she couldn't in a situation as delicate as this.

"Whatever you want. I mean, legally I'm your guardian now anyway but I understand that Miranda was your mom and I wouldn't want you to think I'm going to try and replace her."

"I don't think that. I'm just scared she'd think I was disrespecting her memory by wanting you to be my mom."

"She wouldn't think that." Jenna assured her. "She knew that she was raising my daughter and that one day you'd find out." Elena nodded slowly. Jenna paused before saying anything more, scared of the response that she might get. "Are you happy that you know now?" She asked.

"I don't know. I guess I am it's just..."

"It's a lot to take in."

"Yeah."

"It will get easier." She said, tentatively pulling Elena into a hug. She reached up to wipe the tears that had fallen down her daughter's cheeks away with her thumb and gave her a small smile. "Now why don't we get some junk food and sit and watch a chick flick together like we used to?" She suggested, hoping that Elena agreed. They could both do with some normality and a chance to be in each other's company without feeling like they were walking on eggshells.

"I'd like that, as long as I get to pick the movie." Elena smiled, relieved that she was starting to relax again.

"I guess that's fair." Jenna laughed lightly. "I'll get us some snacks."

They made their way downstairs and set up the movie. By the end of it, they were both almost falling asleep after the long and emotional day that they'd had.

**I hope you liked it and I'd love to know what you think :) xxxxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few months Jenna and Elena's relationship slowly returned to a somewhat normal state. They had decided to keep the truth a secret from Jeremy for a while, not wanting him to go through the pain of losing the last member of his immediate family by finding out that his sister was in fact his cousin. Jenna promised to wait until Elena was ready for him to know before she said anything.

Jenna and Alaric had started dating and he had begun to spend most nights at the Gilbert's house. Jeremy and Elena didn't mind this as he made Jenna happy and it was useful to have someone else who knew about vampires and all the drama that had been going on in their lives to help them.

Most of the town had spent the day setting up for the masquerade ball. It was due to take place the following day and, being many people's favourite celebration, there was a lot of work to be done so that it would live up to expectations.

That evening, Alaric, Jenna and Elena were preparing dinner in the kitchen.

"Who's she talking to?" Elena asked Alaric, looking over at Jenna on the phone.

"I don't know. Everything go ok today?" He replied.

"There were a few hiccups but yeah."

"Of course. I understand." Jenna said, walking over to Elena and handing her the phone. "Elena, it's for you."

"Who is it?" She asked. "Hello?"

"Hello Elena." Katherine's voice replied down the phone.

Elena stood there in shock. Why was Katherine calling her?

"... so when I suggest that the world would be a much better place if she were to just..."

Elena looked around to see Jenna raising a knife up about to stab herself with it.

"Jenna no!" She screamed, rushing to her side. Alaric was with them almost immediately as they tried to stop the blood flow.

"Call an ambulance!" He yelled. Elena quickly grabbed the phone and dialled 911. Within minutes an ambulance was there and Jenna was rushed to the hospital.

The wait for news on Jenna's condition was almost unbearable. She had stabbed herself pretty deeply and lost a lot of blood before she made it to the hospital. When a nurse came out to tell Elena and Jeremy that she was going to be alright, so long as they kept her in overnight for observation, a wave of intense relief washed over them. Jenna was ok. Katherine hadn't won this time.

Later that night Elena was laying in bed replaying the evening's events in her mind. How could she have let this happen? How had Katherine been able to get to Jenna without anyone noticing? She realised reluctantly that none of it would've happened if she'd told Jenna about vampires earlier. She'd be aware of the importance of the vervain that she was taking daily and would've known not to invite Katherine into their house. All of this could have been prevented. Although Elena thought that keeping Jenna in the dark would protect her, she knew now the risks of her not knowing were too great. It was even more important that she knew now that her doppelganger was able to come inside their house.

Elena sighed to herself. She would have to tell her. But how do you even tell someone that vampires exist? How can you break that news to somebody? Was there even an easy way to do it? Deciding it was best not to worry about it until tomorrow, Elena shut off her light and went to sleep.

The next morning, Elena and Jeremy brought Jenna home with the help of Matt.

"Stop fussing. I'm fine." She insisted as they entered the house.

"The doctor said that you have to take it easy." Elena reminded her as they led her to the couch.

"I walked into a knife. How does somebody do that?" She asked.

"I've done it like twenty times at the Grill." Matt joked, causing Jenna to laugh. "Okay I'm being nice." He admitted as he sat her down.

Elena and Jeremy made their way to the kitchen, allowing them to talk in private while Matt made sure that Jenna was comfortable.

"So what are we going to do?" Jeremy asked.

"Make lunch."

"About Katherine."

"I'm going to tell Jenna everything." Elena told him.

"What?"

"It's getting too dangerous to keep her in the dark now. At least if she knows she'd be on the lookout for my evil doppelganger and she won't be able to be convinced to stop wearing vervain as easily." She explained.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He questioned.

"No really, but it's the best chance we have to keep her safe."

"Ok, but I don't want to be around when you do it." Jeremy admitted.

"Fine. Can you tell Ric for me please? I want to do it today when I get a chance."

"Sure." He said, grabbing his jacket and walking off.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Out." Jeremy replied. "I'll be back." He said louder so that Jenna and Matt could hear.

Elena stayed home with Jenna and Alaric that evening after deciding not to go to the masquerade ball. She had let Ric know that she was going to tell Jenna and he agreed to stay and help.

"I feel like an invalid." Jenna said as she struggled to sit up.

"That's because you are an invalid. Where's Jeremy?"

"He already left for the Lockwood party."

"Look, Jenna, we need to talk."

"What's this about?" She asked.

"About your accident." Elena started.

"The doctor said I'm fine. You're worrying too much Elena. Anyone would think you were my mom, not the other way around." She joked.

Having been listening in on their conversation, Alaric looked around in shock.

"What?" He asked.

"I mean… umm…" Jenna backtracked. "You know… her guardian."

"Jenna, it's ok." Elena assured her. Jenna gave her a questioning look but Elena just nodded. "Jenna's my birth mother." She clarified with Alaric. It was the first time she'd said those words out loud since she told Stefan a few months ago and it didn't seem any less surreal, despite having time to get used to the idea.

"How is that even…?" He trailed off as Elena interrupted him.

"Not the time, Ric. We've got more important things to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Jenna asked.

"We need to tell you something about your… ummm… accident." She said slowly, as if trying to put off the conversation just a few seconds longer.

"As if me walking into a knife isn't embarrassing enough you have to keep bring it up?" She joked.

"That's the thing. You didn't walk into a knife."

"What?"

"You stabbed yourself."

"How… why…. what? Why would I do that?" Jenna asked, confused.

"You weren't in control of it." Elena tried to explain. "You were compelled by a woman named Katherine."

Alaric took over, walking round to sit next to his girlfriend on the arm of the couch. "It's like being hypnotised. If she told you to do it you couldn't have stopped yourself."

"Wait, what?"

Elena decided that it was best to just rip off the metaphorical band-aid.

"She's a vampire."

"A vampire? Right, now I know you're joking."

"This isn't a joke, Jenna." She said.

"Ric?" Jenna asked, craning her neck to look up at him whilst trying not to rip her stitches with too much movement. "Are you in on this too?"

"She's not joking. Katherine is a vampire and she's dangerous. That's why we're telling you about her now. We can't let her hurt you again." He said, stroking her hair gently.

"Do you remember that perfume I gave you?" Elena asked.

Jenna nodded. "You told me to stop wearing it last week."

"That wasn't me. It was Katherine."

"What?"

"She's my doppelganger." Elena tried to explain. "Somewhere down our family tree we must've been from her bloodline. That's why I asked you to research it. Anyway, that perfume contains an herb called vervain. It stops you from being compelled. You need to keep wearing it."

"That's how she was able to make me stab myself?" She asked as the realisation started to appear on her face. Elena nodded sadly. "No." Jenna said, with tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Elena told her. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"When I was little my sister used to tell me bedtime stories: stories about vampires. I never thought that what she said could be true."

"It is true, Jenna. I should've told you sooner. I thought that if you didn't know you'd be safe. But then things started getting out of control and everything I've done to keep you out of it just blew up in my face."

"Who else knows?" She asked. "Jeremy?" Elena nodded. "John?"

"We were just trying to protect you." She argued.

"Protect me?"

"I'm so sorry. I will tell you everything." Elena promised.

"No, Elena. I am the one who's supposed to be protecting you, and Jeremy. Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, her anger heightened as she became more emotional. "After everything that happened a few months ago you didn't think to mention something like this?"

"Jenna, I…"

"I'm scared." She admitted.

"I know, we all are. I'm sorry."

"Ric, can you go now please?" Jenna asked him.

"Elena?" He asked, knowing that she'd wanted some support telling Jenna.

"It's fine."

"Ok. Call me if you need anything. I'll be over tomorrow with a lot of chocolate for you." He told Jenna, giving her a quick kiss before letting himself out.

"So all those stories Miranda told me – they were true?" Jenna Asked through her tears once they heard the front door slam shut. Elena nodded. "You should've told me Elena. I'm your mother and it's my job to protect you, not the other way around."

"There's so much more to it though."

"Like what?"

"Katherine isn't the only vampire in Mystic Falls." She admitted.

"Who?"

Elena looked down to avoid Jenna's questioning glare. "Stefan and Damon, Caroline, Alaric's wife Isobel. Jeremy's friend Anna and her mother Pearl were as well."

"Anyone else?" She asked in disbelief.

"Bonnie is… she's a witch." Elena told her.

"A witch?"

"I know this is a lot to take in, Jenna, but I promise I'll tell you everything."

"Stefan?" She asked. "You're dating a... a vampire?"

"Was dating." Elena corrected. "And save me the lecture, Jenna. Your dating history isn't exactly better than mine."

"And I expect you to learn from my mistakes." Jenna argued. "At least I never dated someone who was..." She trailed off, struggling to say the word out loud.

"Actually..." Elena started, not knowing how to break the news.

"Don't tell me Ric is..."

"No, Logan."

"Scumfell?" Jenna asked in disbelief. "Well that explains a lot."

Elena nodded. "He was turned after you dated him. That's when he disappeared. He was a vampire when he came back a few months later." She explained. "You don't have to worry about him now though, he was... he's dead."

"How did he...?"

"Jenna, you don't..."

"You promised me the truth Elena." She reminded her, wiping a fallen tear from her cheek.

"Ric killed him." Elena admitted.

She spent most of the evening explaining everything that she knew about vampires to Jenna, who was still struggling to take everything in.

"So all this time you've been in danger and you never told me?" Jenna asked once she'd finished.

"I didn't want you to get hurt. You don't deserve to be dragged in to this mess."

"Elena, that is not your call to make." Jenna told her firmly, trying to sit up but flinching at the pain in her stomach.

"Are you ok?" Elena asked. Jenna nodded, reluctantly lying back down on the couch. "I'm sorry. I didn't want any of this to happen."

"You and Jeremy should've told me sooner. You could've come to me about this. I might've been able to help."

"What's important is that you know everything now." Elena said, hoping to calm Jenna down. "I'm so sorry I didn't say anything sooner. I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"I'll be ok." She assured her. "Just don't ask me to run away from any vampires for a while." She joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"You know, you should probably do some damage control with Ric." Elena suggested. "He's going to want answers."

"I'll talk to him when he comes over tomorrow." Jenna decided. "Right now I think I just need to sleep."

"Do you need help getting upstairs?" Elena offered and Jenna nodded, exhausted from their emotional evening and still too dosed up on painkillers to be bothered with arguing.

Elena allowed Jenna to lean on her while they slowly made their way up the stairs to Jenna's bedroom. Realising that she was also tired, Elena decided to go to sleep as well. She had to admit that, as hard as it was, she was glad she'd told Jenna the truth and that everything was out in the open between them. It just hurt her to realise the extent to which Katherine had been able to go to before Elena had the courage to tell her.


End file.
